Between Jobs
by Jason Schossler

Stopping halfway across the lot,
my father raises his eyes
to heaven and grunts,
Sweet Jesus on a stick,
here she comes,
the young waitress
with the door-squeak voice,
a rag in her hand,
waving the bill for our burgers
and Cokes. Start the car, he says,
and tosses me the keys
before walking over to her
with a lopsided grin, shrugging,
patting first his coat pocket,
and then his slacks,
telling her he’ll be back
in a jiff, and me suddenly wishing
I had gone for the double deluxe
and a chocolate fudge malt
as I slide over from behind the wheel
to buckle myself in.

About the Poet

Jason Schossler is a Pushcart Prize nominee and the recipient of the 2010 Emerging Writer award from Grist: A Journal for Writers. His stories and poems have appeared in The Sun, North American Review, Rattle, and The Antioch Review, where his poem, “Between Jobs,” was nominated by the editors for the Best New Poets 2010 anthology. He has been awarded fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus in Germany. He teaches writing at Temple University.